Achievements
| Senior All-Ireland accordion champion. | 1959 and 1960 |
| "Traditional Musician of the Year" RTE Irish Television. | 1970 |
| Represented Ireland at World Accordion Festival held in Montmagny, Quebec, Canada. | 1989 |
| Hosted hiw own Radio show entitled "Ireland in America" on station K.D.H.X., St. Louis Missouri. | 1989-1991 |
| Represented Ireland in "Accordions that shook the World" tour. | 1992 |
| "Hall of Fame" award Rostrevor, Co. Down. | 1990 |
| "Lifetime Achievement" award "Irish World" newspaper, London. | 1997 |
| "Honorary Member" award National Association of Accordion and Fiddle Clubs, Scotland. | 1974 |
| "Traditional Musician of the Year" award - A.I.B. and Galway Chamber of Commerce. | 1997 |
| Represented Ireland at traditional music festival Canayyama, Japan. | 2001 |
| Boston College Award for "Your exceptional mastery and life long illustration of the music in Ireland". | 2000 |
| Arranged and Performed music for "Old Ireland" - a film depicting rural Ireland in the mid twentieth century. | 2002 |
| Gradam an comhaltais | 2003 |
| Hall of fame New York Comhaltas | 2010 |
| Represented Ireland in Moscow Music Festival | 2010 |
Teaches Master Classes
- Willie Clancy Summer School, Co. Clare
- South Sligo Summer School, Co. Sligo
- Joe Mooney Summer School, Co. Leitrim
- Mcpeake Summer School, Belfast.
Lectures and talks on traditional music entitled:
- "Emigrant Musicians of the Twentieth Century"
- "The Music of East Galway"
- "The Accordion in Traditional Music"
- "Time of Change" Traditional Music mid Twentieth Century.